1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to athletic shoes, and more particularly to arrangements for the stabilization of athletic shoes.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional athletic shoes such as running or jogging shoes use various arrangements for controlling pronation during the gait cycle. Pronation is an inward roll toward the medial side of a shoe following heel contact with a running surface. This in turn causes the foot shod with the shoe to pronate inwardly. Over-pronation is undesirable and can lead to various foot problems, such as inflammation, swelling and pain in the knee, a condition commonly known as “runners knee”. Some runners need a shoe which controls supination, which is an outward roll toward the lateral side of a shoe following heel contact.
Presently in an effort to control pronation, most shoe companies use a dense material on the medial side of the shoe. Another existing shoe design uses a nylon plate sandwiched between the midsole in a wave fashion, but the design does not provide forefoot protection from midsole breakdown. Other shoe designs use plastic strips attached to the medial side of the midsole, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,051 to Whatley.
Despite the various shoes in the prior art that are designed to control pronation, there has not been a suitable solution to the foregoing problems and shortcomings of existing athletic shoes. It would be desirable to provide a shoe design which is more stable for controlling over-pronation and alleviating many of the undesirable consequences from such over-pronation.